TNI asks for tipoffs to help nab bombers

TNI asks for tipoffs to help nab bombers

Tiarma Siboro, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Indonesian Military (TNI) chief Gen. Endriartono Sutarto urged
the people on Monday to help the country's intelligence agencies
in the fight against terrorism by providing more information
about suspected terrorism activities in their neighborhoods.

Endriartono said it was unfortunate that since the fall of the
Suharto regime seven years ago, people were now more reluctant to
share information with intelligence units.

"Intelligence (officers) can only maximize their roles in
preventing terror attacks if the people provide support and
information. In the past, people would come to military offices
and share information about suspicious things around them.

"But nowadays ... the military and its intelligence activities
are frequently condemned by the people. And, indeed, sharing
information with intelligence officers has become (seen as)
something cheap," Endriartono said on the sidelines of a
rehearsal for the commemoration of Wednesday's TNI Day at the
Halim Perdanakusuma military air base in East Jakarta.

His remarks came amid criticism of the poor performance of
intelligence agencies in the wake of the weekend bomb blasts in
Bali, which killed at least 22 people and injured more than 100.

"In many (terrorism) cases, we see that residential areas have
become camps where members of certain groups make homemade bombs.
I don't understand why the communities (in these areas) have
failed to inform security officers when they witness such
suspicious activities," Endriartono said.

The remarks drew criticism from civil rights activists, who
said military intelligence officers should not be able to
mobilize civilians to spy for them because it was not their role.

"We must, from the very beginning, guard a system which
enhances the roles of the police to deal with terrorism issues.
Also, the recent Bali blasts should not pave the way for the
military to enter the police's domain and to take away people's
civil liberties," said Rachland Nashiddik, an executive director
of Indonesian human rights watch Imparsial.

Usman Hamid of the National Commission on Missing Persons and
Victims of Violence (Kontras) said that civilian participation in
the war against terrorism was possible but should depend on the
condition that "they were involved as members of a team
investigating a terror attack, and not as informants to
intelligence officers."

"The involvement of civilians in the investigation process
will help ensure security forces carry out their jobs seriously.
This seriousness is necessary to (help) prevent more attacks,"
Usman said.

Usman called on the National Police and the State intelligence
Agency (BIN) to provide transparent data about the use of
millions of dollars in funds provided by donor countries aimed at
supporting efforts to curb terrorism nationwide.

"If the intelligence community has properly allocated the
funds, there is no reason for them to complain about their
weaknesses by blaming civilians for not supporting them. They
(the intelligence agencies) have adequate funding and also
legislation that grants them extra powers," Usman said, referring
to the Antiterrorism Law which enables the police to arrest
suspected terrorists for up to 72 hours without charging them.

Meanwhile, the Speaker of the People's Consultative Assembly,
Hidayat Nurwahid, urged President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono to
evaluate the performance of BIN and other intelligence units in
the wake of the Bali blasts, arguing that the incidents could
have been prevented if the intelligence system was working
properly.

However, Hidayat also warned that any moves to rashly increase
the powers of intelligence agencies in the country would likely
undermine democratic and civil liberties.